Sign up free
Skip to main content

Nurseries in Darwen

There are 9 nurseries and pre-schools on the Ofsted register in Darwen, and 4 other childcare settings such as out-of-school clubs.

Inspection grades in Darwen

  • Ofsted report cards: 3 settings (2 Expected standard, 5 Needs attention, 6 Urgent improvement)
  • Ofsted grades before November 2025: 5 settings (5 Good)

Grades are shown only where the inspectorate has published the report.

Nurseries and pre-schools

  • Ark Les Enfants Nursery and Forest School - Day nursery, Darwen BB3 1JE, ages 0 to 4, 80 places
    Ofsted, 18 January 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Barnabas House Private Nursery - Day nursery, Darwen BB3 2EB, ages 1 to 4, 59 places
    Ofsted report card, 28 November 2025: Expected standard in 1 area, Needs attention in 5 areas; safeguarding standards met
  • Darwen Children's Centre - Pre-school, Darwen BB3 0HD, ages 2 to 4, 56 places
    Ofsted, 3 June 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Kidzania Childcare Darwen - Day nursery, Darwen BB3 1AT, ages 1 to 4, 99 places
    Ofsted report card, 23 April 2026: Urgent improvement in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met
  • Marshmallows Day Nursery - Day nursery, Darwen BB3 3JB, ages 0 to 4, 63 places
    Ofsted, 29 March 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • PALS-Darwen St Joseph's Primary School - Day nursery, Darwen BB3 2SG, ages 4 to 10, 35 places
    Ofsted report card, 18 September 2026: Expected standard in 1 area
  • Precious Moments Childcare (Darwen) ltd. - Day nursery, Darwen BB3 2DE, ages 0 to 4, 55 places
    Ofsted, 28 June 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Progress Education Centre - Darwen - Pre-school, Darwen BB3 1QU
  • Rainbow Childcare - Day nursery, Darwen BB3 1NW, ages 1 to 7, 32 places
    Ofsted, 10 February 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective

Out-of-school clubs and other childcare

  • Butterflies Out Of School Experience - Out-of-school club, Darwen BB3 3DL, 40 places
  • Kidsland Limited @ Ashleigh Primary School - Out-of-school club, Darwen BB3 2JT, 60 places
  • Kidsland Limited at St Joseph's Church Hall Darwen - Out-of-school club, Darwen BB3 2PG, 60 places
  • Safe Hands - Out-of-school club, Darwen BB3 0HY, 30 places

Nursery groups with settings here

Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)

Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.

The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.

Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.

Source: Ofsted reports

Ofsted grades before November 2025 (England)

Inspections before November 2025 gave one overall grade on a four-point scale: Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate. Ofsted also graded the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, and said whether safeguarding was effective.

Settings keep their last grade until Ofsted visits again, so many nurseries still show a grade from this older scale.

Source: Ofsted reports

Funded childcare hours in England

All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.

Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.

Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.

The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.

Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)

Council area

Schools in Darwen

Sources: Ofsted, registers as at 30 June 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.